Awakening Abode

Once Leo was finished ripping off the slips from the ones he fought with, he stared at the remaining people in the hall.

This won't end until there's a last one standing. I can go back to standing quietly in a corner, but there's a chance that the ones from the main family could band together to attack me. 

Leo quickly came to a decision of striking while the iron was hot. The ones watching were already feeling intimidated, he may as well use this to his advantage and attack them!

Gesturing Everett to place Ellyse in the middle so that she would be protected from the front and the back, Leo made his way towards the nearest person that showed signs of being alarmed.

"W, w, where do you think you're coming!?" The red-haired youngster took a few steps back and exclaimed. 

His servants appeared in front of him and gulped mouthfuls of nervous saliva. It was their job to guard their master and the rule of no killing or disabling did not really apply to them, meaning Leo could do as he pleased with them and suffer no consequences.

All the youngsters in the hall were silent and watching Leo's move. They had dropped the thought of fighting each other as it may cause a third party to swoop in and harvest the benefits. The third party here was being referred to Leo.

With swift footwork, he closed the gap between him and the servants, then hit their necks and knocked them unconscious. Their master followed suit shortly after as Leo moved past him.

The slips weren't ripped apart this time. Leo kept them with himself and stood in a corner after knocking a few more people out.

A lot of youngsters were intimidated by Leo's sudden display of strength. Never could've they expected that someone with an impure bloodline would be able to beat someone with a pure bloodline.

Now that it had come to this, the clogged gears in their brains had finally started running smoothly and they realized who they were messing with.

Leo may be a bastard son of the potential Patriarch and grandson of the current Patriarch, he was still in the direct line, his status being much higher than most of the youngsters in the hall. Only a few could match him, but there were none who were above him.

Being a bastard son, the youngsters thought Leo could be an easy target and could be bullied, but it had clearly backfired. He did not use any special martial art skills and had taken out quite the crowd with basic kicks and punches. That thin frame of his was not to be trifled with.

Leo wasn't bothered anymore and the youngsters fought amongst themselves. 

The main branch kids moved once the branch families had settled down. They initially had plans to gang up on Leo and take him down, but decided against it as that would not end well.

Leo could simply target one person and rip their slip, causing them to be pushed in the back of the line. Most of the main family's youngsters were prideful and wouldn't want to take such a risk of being pushed behind for the sake of others.

The cons were higher than the pros, it was best not to rattle the snake. 

Roughly ten minutes later, the event had ended with Elder Kim's entry into the hall.

Leo grabbed the first spot with the most number of slips. Following him was Yu who was staring daggers at him. Next two spots were occupied by randoms from the main family and then it was Viren, barely managing to be in the top five.

If the master and servants held their slips till the end and had the most number of them, they were allowed to move together. Despite the servants being literal slaves of the family, their strength was needed. If they were weak, they would become a liability, and if they were as strong as their masters, they could jump in to save their master during life threatening situations.

The Ignis and most noble families around the world believed that the best defensive artifact was the one that could think for itself, sentient, and capable of making decisions. Literal humans fit the criteria the best and were hence given some care.

"Line up!" Elder Kim shouted.

Leo, Ellyse, and Everett stood in a row at the first spot. Behind them stood Yu and her servants. And just like that, three lines were formed with the Ignis members being in the middle one. 

Elder Kim gestured to the lanky elder with hand signs. The latter clapped his hands and two people dragged a giant cart with a ten feet tall and five feet wide oval mirror on it. 

The mirror was placed a few feet away from Leo. The two people dragging the cart got to work and arranged a few gray colored stones at the base and back of the mirror.

They then channeled their spiritual essence at the formation present at the base of the mirror and made the entire thing light up with a bright sheen.

The brightness made everyone cover their eyes, it was blinding. It only lasted for a few seconds and was then replaced by an ethereal view of a cave filled with herbs, illuminated with a serene blue glow.

"Step in," instructed Elder Kim.

Leo held Ellyse and Everett's wrist and climbed the stairs, moving right into the portal. 

In a split second, their whole surroundings changed. The portal behind them vanished and they weren't surrounded by hot blooded youngsters anymore. 

Leo took a step ahead and turned around to look at Ellyse and Everett. "You two, listen carefully…"

There were no eyes or ears in this place. It was safe to divulge secrets that only Leo knew of.

Ellyse and Everett paid attention with the former being much more attentive than ever before. She had a firsthand experience of teleportation and knew that she was in a fantasy world. Any mistake could cost her life, and given how easily the host of her body had been killed, she dared not take any chances.

Leo gave the two important instructions and also briefed them about the upcoming events. What they should and shouldn't do was elaborated upon as well.

Roughly ten minutes later, a voice interrupted the three.

"Attention, younglings."

The voice came from the slips they were all holding. 

"You are in the Awakening Abode. There are multiple Awakening Shrubs near you, eat any and start cultivating. You have a week's time, good luck."

Leo put the slips back in his pocket, others followed suit. These slips were communication talismans and also helped in finding the youngsters of the family in the abodes they were in.

He went to pick up a bunch of glowing blue-green shrubs growing at the damp edges of the cave and returned to his servants' side.

Handing one bunch to Ellyse, another to Everett, then holding another for himself, Leo said, "Watch what I'm doing, then repeat it. Afterwards, do what I've told you to do."

Ellyse and Everett nodded their heads in understanding.

Leo sat down at a random spot in the cave in a lotus position. He crushed the shrubs into a ball and shoved them inside his mouth, chewing on them. The taste was a mix of parsley and basil with the former dominating his taste buds as he continued to chew.

The shrubs turned into a paste in a few minutes and gulping them down, Leo suddenly felt a warm flow of energy spreading from his stomach to everywhere in his body.

He closed his eyes and went into a meditative state, focusing on channeling the energy evenly in his body.

Ellyse and Everett took deep breaths and did the same thing. 

Ellyse needed some mental preparation and it took her a few extra minutes, but she managed to calm down and eat the shrubs as well.

Just like that, the three sat in a triangular position, facing each other, and focused on their awakening.